July 11, 2012, 10:30 p.m. ETA Cut Above: In These Knife Fights, Only Pride Gets Wounded Competitors Try to Best Each Other in Slicing Water Bottles, Tennis Balls; Bisecting a Grape By TIMOTHY W. MARTIN

At this year's World Cutting Championships, a group of dedicated blade enthusiasts gathered to celebrate their sport -- slaying water bottles, tennis balls, and 2x4s -- in a contest for 2012's top "knifelete." WSJ'S Timothy Martin reports.

ATLANTA—Donavon Phillips windmilled his arms. He hopped a few times to get the blood flowing in his legs. A light sweat formed under his black-and-red jersey—just the right dew.

"You can't go into this cold, because it's an all-out sport," said Mr. Phillips, pulling his right arm across his chest.

He was warming up for a cutthroat event: the 10th annual World Championship Cutting Competition.

It takes razor-sharp focus to be a cutting champ, along with a blade that resembles a bulkier, sharper version of a kitchen meat cleaver. Mr. Phillips is one of a few who have helped make a sport out of demonstrating they can swiftly, flawlessly slice through a dozen water bottles or chop a rolling tennis ball in half.

Having won the national title in May, he is a favorite on the cutting circuit.

The bearish, 32-year-old auto technician from Morton, Miss., who played offensive line on his high-school football team, started cutting six years ago, right around the time Americans began buying expensive kitchen cutlery with brand names like Wüsthof and marveling as celebrity chefs and TV cooking shows made knife wizardry cool.

More recently, Mr. Phillips has dedicated himself to an hourlong training session each week using a shiny, rectangular 15-inch knife he made himself. He calls it "Edge of the Delta," in honor of his Mississippi roots. He spends hours scrutinizing videos of the greats, such as Dan Keffeler, famous for splitting a two-by-four in 1.4 seconds. He has a sponsorship from Spyderco Knives, a Golden, Colo., company that prides itself on "radical innovations to the knife culture" like a one-hand blade opening and ergonomic design.

"With basketball, everybody wanted to 'Be Like Mike,' " said Perry Reynolds, a vice president with International Housewares Association, an industry group, referencing the iconic Gatorade commercial featuring basketball great Michael Jordan. "Now we've got people wanting to be like some famous chef."

The skills exhibited by Mr. Phillips and others mirror the cutting feats seen on late-night TV ads that pitched Ginsu Knives, whose co-founder, Barry Becher, died last month.

Cutting events were once military-style affairs. Participants wore camouflage. Competitions were limited to custom knife makers and featured a series of challenges such as stabbing a soda can—a move meant to showcase how well the blades could jab, sever and stick. Winners would then sell their handmade blades, or replicas of them, for big bucks.

In 2006, a group of "cutters" formed BladeSports International Inc. and started to formalize the obscure sport. They banned camouflage and military boots and opened up the competition to all comers, who were allowed to use mass-produced blades.

To demonstrate the versatility of the knife as a tool, the group designed multistage courses featuring a dozen or more cutting challenges. They dictated dimensions: Knives had to be no longer than 15 inches overall, with no more than 10 inches of blade.

"We don't do anything threatening. We have no pointing. We don't stick. We don't do anything stabbing," said Warren Osborne, a founding member of BladeSports and a retired cutter. He thrusts his arm forward, to illustrate.

The group prescribed several "finesse" cuts like slicing a grape in half or dicing a cardboard paper towel roll into as many slivers as possible, the way a chef slices an onion. Cutters were to be judged on time and accuracy. A new wave of safety rules required eye gear and adding foot-fault penalties to ensure people would stand a safe distance away.

At the World Championship Cutting Competition, held last month in a suburban Atlanta parking lot, Gary Bond, a 48-year-old maintenance worker who named his knife "Bruiser," was among the strongest contenders to knock out Mr. Phillips.

Another was Ted Ott, a bespectacled, 59-year-old electrician from Elgin, Texas, and a former world champion cutter. Contenders came from the U.S., United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

Awaiting his turn, Mr. Ott carefully studied the footwork of other competitors, counting the number of steps required between each station. "It's three seconds a cut. That's what you need to average to win a world championship," said Mr. Ott, who makes and markets his own knives.

Potential points are allotted for each cut, based on the difficulty. Missing on a particular cut means the points aren't accrued. The final point total is then subtracted from a time score, and the lowest number wins.

After his turn through the 13-station course, Mr. Ott had the score to beat: 53.79 points, after breezing through in just under 47 seconds.

"Don't overthink it, Donavon," Mr. Phillips told himself. Mr. Phillips had been favored last year to win, but lost to Mr. Bond.

Unusually nimble for someone 6-feet-4, 370 pounds, Mr. Phillips entered the course, sporting a Spyderco T-shirt, and took a few practice swings, just like Derek Jeter might before heading to home plate. A hush passed over the crowd of 250 strong.

He unsheathed "Edge of the Delta" and raised his arm. One quick flash, and a thick cardboard tube was destroyed. The crowd, piled onto portable aluminum bleachers and leaning up against pickup trucks, let out a collective roar.

Mr. Phillips then sliced a line of 10 water bottles in half. Water gushed onto the pavement and halves of clear plastic bottles fell to the ground. He next bisected an inch-thick rope, then set his sights on three water bottles, stacked about 6 inches apart, which he had to cut vertically.

He split open the first bottle, exploding the white plastic top. But the force from the water and the knife knocked over the remaining two bottles. With that, his world-championship hopes were dashed.

Mr. Ott came in first. Mr. Phillips finished in second place with 61.34 points and Mr. Bond's 76.27 points were good enough for third.

Mr. Ott was gracious as he held the world title trophy: a shieldlike belt buckle intricately engraved with the words "BLADE Show."

"A good stickgrappler has good stick skills, good grappling, and good stickgrappling and can keep track of all three simultaneously. This is a good trick and can be quite effective." - Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny

Quote:Witnesses gave consistent accounts as to what happened prior to. during, and after theinc ident. They alleged that DeAndre Felton and the 13-year-old male had been with them, as a group, at the Westfield Shopping Town Plaza (Meriden Square) on Lewis Avenue prior to the incident. When the mall closed, the group gathered in the parking lot of the mall, where DeAndre and the 13 year old, whom the witnesses claimed were both "high," made statements to the effect that they wanted to "look for trouble" and "beatsomeone up." According to the witnesses, the group walked across Lewis Avenue and entered the north parking lot of Midstate Medical Center. As they began to exit through the pedestrian access gate leading to Kensington Avenue, Felton and the 13 year old suddenly broke away from the group and began running east along Kensington Avenue, where they jumped a male from behind and began assaulting him. The witnesses disclaimed any prior knowledge that this attack was going to take place. Moments later, Felton and the 13 year old ran back to the group, where they collapsed from stab wounds. The other male involved in the incident ran away in the opposite direction. Based upon the investigative efforts of responding officers and detectives, the male who was attacked from behind was identified and located. He willingly cooperated with police and rendered a statement that was consistent with eyewitness accounts. He surrendered the pocketknife that he used in the incident, as well as other evidentiary items. He was not aware that he had inflicted a mortal injury to one of his attackers. He became visibly shaken and upset when he learned that DeAndre Felton had died. Theidentity of this male is not being released at this time as the investigation is continuing.

I'm not sure if this belongs on this thread or on the politics thread - London seems to be taking a sharp turn towards the dark ages these days.

'No, don't do it': Cries of teen, 16, begging for his life before being stabbed to death in posh London street by gang armed with knives and swords

A 16-year-old boy was heard screaming for his life before he was fatally stabbed by a gang armed with knives and swords, residents of a well-heeled area of London said today. The teenager, named locally as Hani Abou El-Kheir, is said to have cried 'don't do it' as he was attacked after tripping while fleeing the gang. He was stabbed in Pimlico, central London, shortly before 7pm yesterday evening and taken to a nearby hospital, but he died from his injuries two hours later.

Shocked residents living close to the scene on Lupus Street, claimed today that a gang of black and white teenagers were seen carrying out the attack.

Other witnesses have claimed that the victim's mother, named by locals as Pauline Hickey, rushed to the scene and was seen crying as she was kept behind a police cordon. She is said to have watched as paramedics battled to save her son. He is the first teenager to be murdered in London this year. A total of eight teenagers were murdered in London last year, according to Metropolitan Police figures, including six stabbings, one who died from serious head injuries and one teenager who was strangled.

Despite the fact that some of the houses on one side of the street sell for an average of £500,000 the other side of the street is home to a 1970s estate.

Mahmoud Abosiad visited the family today and said: 'He was a lovely boy. He did not deserve to end up on a slab. His mother, who is said to live 100 yards from the scene, did not want to comment today but is said to be 'broken-hearted'. Neighbours this afternoon described the victim as a 'nice boy, polite'.Rebecca Bartholomew, who lives a few doors down from Hani and his mother, said: 'He always seemed like a nice boy, polite.'

We never had any trouble. He had friends his own age and whether they were in trouble I don't know. 'His mum is friendly too. They would say hello when we saw them.' Mohammed Alzubaidi, 49, said that a friend of his witnessed the attack.

'He said they were carrying knives, some of them with wide swords. He said the victim was screaming and trying to get away,' Mr Alzubaidi said. He said he had heard that the gang had scattered and run off in different directions.Other witnesses said that the gang was made up of about 15, with most wearing dark hoodies and bandanas over their faces.

One witness said that he saw the teenager running but he tripped and was attacked by the gang. He told the Evening Standard: 'He was shouting "don't do it" but they just went ahead. 'One put a blade in near his ribs. Others then kicked him before just jogging off as if nothing had happened.' The witness said that the attackers calmly put their weapons in socks and put them up their sleeves as they made off. The fatally injured teenager was found by ambulance staff after emergency services were called to the area following reports that a youth had been stabbed.

(...)

Homes in Lupus Street cost on average more than £500,000 according to property website Zoopla, with a one-bedroom ex-council flat costing around £300,000. A resident said that there is a huge divide in the area. She said: 'To be honest there is certainly a difference between the two sides of the street but I never expected anything like this to happen. 'It's a shame that kids let it get to this point.'I don't feel unsafe now but this type of thing can get to you when it happens in front of your front door.' A 58-year-old local resident said there had been two murders in nearby Gloucester Street in recent years and a stabbing of a boy outside a row of shops in Lupus Street before Christmas.

'The violence that has started to occur around here is something else - it is frightening for all the residents,' said the woman, who did not want to be named. 'You used to be able to walk around at night but I am starting to be very wary, especially at night.'Last year Olivier Husseini, 17, was left fighting for his life after he was stabbed in nearby Gloucester Street.

David Savizon, who works for Westminster Council’s Your Choice anti-gangs programme, said Hani Abou El-Kheir’s name came up at a local meeting as someone who was 'on the periphery of having some sort of contact with gangs or activity such as drugs'.Mr Savizon, 34, who has 12 years of experience working with youngsters at risk of joining gangs, said the schoolboy would have been assessed before being approached by drugs workers. But he was not deemed to be a major concern, he said. 'It was more of a bookmark just to see where this young person was,' said Mr Savizon. 'Everything I have heard about him, he was a very timid young man.'The Churchill Gardens estate where the teenager lived has become a drugs blackspot in the last year, said Mr Savizon.Children as young as ten are paid 'tens of pounds' to stash drugs and ferry them around. But he added that there is not an established network of drugs gangs. 'The Churchill Gardens estate has become a bit of a hotspot in the last 12 months for drugs,' said the outreach worker.